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Saturday, May 16, 2015

Sally Nacker is a colleague from the Fairfield University MFA program, and I had the
honor of being in workshop with her, with Lary Bloom at the helm (the keynote
speaker of the Ridgefield Writers Conference).
Whether you’re a poet or a prose writer, you’ll find Sally’s thoughtful
insights on the writing journey, including on writing as a way of healing, a reflection of a poet with a sensitive and
caring spirit and much to share.Sally
received her MFA in creative writing (poetry) from Fairfield University, and
her poetry collection, Vireo (Kelsay
Books 2015), has been a finalist,
a semifinalist and an honorable mention in three poetry book prize contests. She
is a frequent visitor to the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst.
﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿AA: What was the inspiration for Vireo?SN:
Poems throughout my collection, Vireo,
have been largely inspired by nature. That is the foundation for most of the
work. Interwoven throughout my observations of nature are elements of joy,
loss, love and grief. The collection also includes poems I composed on
paintings to which I have felt drawn. In the end, the death of my mother was my
ultimate inspiration.AA: What primary obstacle did you encounter in
completing Vireo, and how did you overcome it?
﻿﻿SN:
A huge obstacle occurred when I became aware that I had accidentally described
the red-eyed vireo's nesting and feeding habits inaccurately in two major
poems. This sudden realization happened a few months after my mother died. I
was in my last semester of graduate school, completing my thesis. I felt my
collection (thesis) finished and was searching for its title. I began reading
Audubon's notes on the red-eyed vireo in detail for ideas and then realized my
mistake: In two major poems, I had the red-eyed vireo nesting in a birdhouse
and feeding at a feeder. The red-eyed vireo, in fact, builds its cupped hanging
nest onto the forks of branches, and eats fruit and insects.
﻿

Vireo, by Sally Nacker
Book jacket by Kathleen D. Michaud

I panicked! I
emailed my mentor, Suzanne Matson, and my best friend and friend of the work,
Leslie Schultz: “What am I going to do?" They were extremely compassionate
but didn't really know what I could do. Perhaps, they suggested, I could adjust
the poems a little. Out of sheer inspiration, I began writing the title poem,
"Vireo." The poem began as a letter to my mother, a reaching out to
her to say that the birds we watched together one spring perhaps were not
vireos. Then, as I continued to write and rewrite, the poem spoke to me: It
doesn't matter that the birds were not vireos, only that my mother and I
thought they were, and that we derived such joy together by watching our
vireos. I emailed my mentor and said the only title for this collection is
Vireo. She replied: "Look no further."

AA: What primary lesson did you learn during this project?SN: I learned
what I had always felt: Art is organic, and within art accidents can be gifts.
I could not have come up with the poem "Vireo" without the experience
I just talked about. If it had been an idea before I wrote the poem, a
manipulation of sorts, the self-discovery would not have taken place, and
neither "Vireo," the poem, nor Vireo,
the collection, would exist.AA: Is there anything you'd like to add?SN: I
received my MFA in January 2013. Vireo
was accepted for publication in October 2014 and published in February 2015.
During the two years between graduating and publishing, Vireo was a finalist, a semifinalist and an honorable mention in
three book prize contests. Along the way, I added new poems I had written that
deepened the collection, and changed the ordering of the poems. My mother's
death sent me into a profound grief that was released the moment I received
word of Vireo's acceptance for
publication. The book needed to be released in order for me to heal.Vireo
can be purchased on Amazon,
at Barrett Bookstore in Darien, CT, and Books on the Common in Ridgefield, CT.Sally
Nacker will be at Poetry by the Sea: A Global Conference in Madison, CT, on Tues.,
May 26, at 4:30 p.m. Or visit her at Sally Nacker.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Now in its
third year, the Ridgefield Writers Conference will offer new workshops,
resources and guidance for writers, starting Friday evening, September 25, and
running through Saturday, September 26, at the Ridgefield Library, with keynote
speaker Lary Bloom.

Based on the
workshop model of the MFA in creative writing, the Ridgefield Writers
Conference offers practical instruction in the craft and art of writing, with
new workshops and resources, panels on publishing and the writing life, agent
queries, readings, and wine and cheese networking receptions with and for
attendees and guests. This year’s faculty includes Michael White and Chris
Belden for long and short fiction; Sonya Huber and James Chesbro for memoir,
nonfiction and creative nonfiction; and Karen Osborn and Adele Annesi for
storytelling and cultural narrative.

The keynote
speaker for the 2015 conference is author, columnist, teacher and playwright
Lary Bloom, author of The Writer Within. Described by Wally Lamb as a writer with
“a sharp eye and a warm heart,” Bloom also authored the Connecticut Notebook
and co-authored The Test of Our Times. His columns have appeared in Connecticut
Magazine the Hartford Courant and The New York Times. Bloom has also taught at
Fairfield and Wesleyan universities and Trinity College.

As with last
year’s event, the Friday evening readings with Shamus Award-winning author
Peter Spiegelman and author Sonya Huber are free and open to the public,
including a wine and cheese networking reception hosted by co-sponsor, the
Ridgefield Library. Also free and open to the public are the Saturday afternoon
readings by attendees and guests, and a wine and cheese networking reception.
Book and resource tables and book signings are available throughout the conference.

The
Ridgefield Writers Conference runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, September 25,
and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, September 26. For registration and full
information, visit Ridgefield Writers Conference, contact Adele Annesi or call 203.894.1908.

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An award-winning development editor, Adele specializes in manuscript evaluations and editing for emerging and established fiction and nonfiction writers. For information, contact Adele or visit Word for Words.

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About Me

Adele Annesi is an award-winning writer, editor, and professor of writing, English and English as another language. She is also a co-author of Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA. Co-founder of the Ridgefield Writers Conference and a professional book editor, Adele crafts articles, columns, reviews and stories for journals such as 34th Parallel, The Fairfield Review, Hotmetalpress, Feile-Festa, Marco Polo Arts Magazine, Midway Journal, Miranda Literary Magazine, The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Pyramid, Tertulia, The Washington Independent Review of Books and Southern Literary Review, where she was managing editor. Her work has also been anthologized for Chatter House Press and Fairfield University, where she received an MFA in creative writing. Her essay on Italian citizenship is part of the Clarion Award-winning Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers, and her flash fiction has been adapted for the stage. A professor of English and writing, Adele is completing a novel set in Italy. Her website is Adele Annesi.